Oh Butternut Squash, Why Do You Treat Me So???

When I introduced butternut squash to my garden midsummer, I was optimistic I'd have absolutely no issues growing it in the space. And yet, this is what it currently looks like ...

Butternut squash, my problem child ...

Grrrr ...


Butternut squash is supposed to essentially grow itself. It supposedly takes over your garden. But not mine - at least not yet. I'm hoping and praying all is not lost. So my first theory has been that the plant has been attacked by bugs ... I see cucumber beetles (yellow and black striped bugs) in the garden so I decided to start with neem oil, sprayed regularly. It's looking slightly better. But maybe that's just me hoping.

I also fed it - they are heavy nitrogen feeders - and I'm not sure if that helped or not.

We'll see how it responds. If it continues to be stubborn, I may be forced to pull it out, clean up that space, and plant something else for a fall harvest.

I've been disappointed in parts of my garden this year. I finally cut down the pepper plant that was seriously afflicted (which oddly seems to have coincided with my mucho nacho pepper plant starting to really take off ... not sure if there's a connection there).

It's all part of the learning process, right?